Ultimate Brownies
These are the best brownies I think I’ve ever had. They are just my style. Chewy, ooey, gooey, and super chocolately. The coffee really enhances the chocolate.
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
For the coffee syrup:
- 1/4 cup strong-brewed coffee
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the ganache:
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
To assemble:
- 1/2 recipe Chocolate Ganache
- Fruity or grassy extra-virgin olive oil
- Flaky sea salt (or coarse)
INSTRUCTIONS
For the brownies:
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Place paper cupcake liners into 2 (12-well) muffin pans.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Return the mixer to medium-high speed, add the sugars, and mix until light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
- Return to medium-high speed, add the crème fraîche and vanilla.
- Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
- Turn the mixer to low speed, add the flour-cocoa mixture, and mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir the batter a few times to incorporate any remaining streaks of flour.
- Fill the batter evenly among the lined wells about 3/4 full. You may have some empty ones. Bake the pans side by side, rotating them from back to front once during baking, until the edges of the brownies are puffed and set and the centers look slightly undercooked (but not raw), about 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the coffee syrup.
For the coffee syrup:
- Place the coffee and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Set aside.
For the ganache:
- Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside.
- Place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour over chocolate and let stand until chocolate has softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add butter and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly before using.
TO ASSEMBLE:
- When the brownies are done baking, lightly brush them with the coffee syrup while they’re still hot. (You will have some syrup left over.) Set the muffin pans on a wire rack and let them cool for at least 10 minutes, then remove the brownies from the pans to finish cooling on the rack.
- Once the brownies are cool, divide the ganache among them, placing it in the indentations of the brownies. Just before serving, drizzle each brownie with olive oil and sprinkle it with a pinch of the flaky sea salt.